From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Philippe Clay, born Philippe Mathevet, (March 7, 1927 – December 13, 2007) was a French mime artist, singer and actor. He was known for his tall and slim silhouette (he was 1,90 m tall) and for his interpretations of songs by Charles Aznavour, Claude Nougaro, Jean-Roger Caussimon, Boris Vian, Serge Gainsbourg, Jean Yanne, Léo Ferré, Jacques Datin, Jean-Claude Massoulier or Bernard Dimey. He interpreted “La Complainte des Apaches” for the TV series Les Brigades du Tigre, written by Henri Djian and composed by Claude Bolling. As an actor, he appeared in many movies (Bell, Book and Candle) and television films. One of his famous roles is in the Jean Renoir film, French Cancan, where he played Casimir le Serpentin (a character inspired by Valentin le désossé). Description above from the Wikipedia article Philippe Clay, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.